1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ice making machine used to produce cube ice or crushed ice such as crescent ice (hereinafter referred to as "cube ice").
2. Description of the Related Art
Cube ice, such as crescent ice, is generally produced by a vertical ice making machine referred to as a cyclic flow-down ice making machine. This type of ice making machine comprises a main body having therein an ice making chamber or an ice reservoir defined by an insulating material, a water sprinkler located within the ice making chamber of the main body, a vertical ice making plate or plates onto which ice-making water is supplied from the water sprinkler, an evaporator arranged on the ice making plate in heat exchange relationship therewith, and an ice-making water tank disposed below the ice making plate. The ice-making water contained in the ice-making water tank is delivered to the water sprinkler, from which the water is sprayed onto the ice making plate. The ice-making water is then cooled to freeze while flowing down on the surface of the ice making plate. In this arrangement, the ice-making water that is not frozen is returned to the ice-making water tank. Accordingly, the ice-making water is repeatedly supplied from the ice-making water tank to the ice making plate by a pump, so that ice having a predetermined thickness or dimensions may be formed on the surface of the ice making plate. In other words, such an operation is repeated until the water in the ice-making water tank is reduced to a predetermined amount.
However,in the above ice making machine, there is a problem in that when a motor for driving the pump is disposed in the ice making chamber, the temperature in the ice making chamber may increase due to the heat generated by the motor. Therefore, solid ice of good quality cannot be formed on the surface of the ice making plate, or a long time period may be required to complete one ice making operation cycle. For this reason, an insulating rear panel is installed) between an upper machine chamber (in which the motor is installed and the rear side of the ice making plate to prevent the temperature increase within the ice making chamber.
Nevertheless, in the conventional method, two flat insulating panels formed into an L shape by being bonded to each other are used as a rear panel to be installed behind the ice making plate. Still, because of insufficient application of adhesive, degradation of the adhesive itself, or a deficiency in the bonding process, a gap may form between the bonded portions of the two insulating panels, and warmer air contained in the upper machine chamber may flow into the ice making chamber through the gap causing the temperature in the ice making chamber to rise. This, predictably, adversely affects the quality of ice being formed on the surface of the ice making plate. Furthermore, completely bonding the two flat insulating panels to each other requires surprising skill and costs.